1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to wireless control of lighting fixtures and lamps. The present invention specifically relates to the assigning and binding of network addresses of ballasts within the fixtures and lamps.
2. Description of the Related Art
Currently, there are infrared wireless control systems and radio frequency wireless control systems for allowing a user to control an operation of a lighting fixture or lamp without the use of a light switch wired directly to the fixture or lamp. Typically, such systems include a remote control having a transmitter and a ballast within each fixture or lamp, each ballast having a receiver. A user operates the remote control to transmit operating commands to a particular receiver of a selected ballast whereby an operation of the selected ballast is controlled. To be able to individually and collectively control each ballast within a cell, each receiver is identified by a unique address that is pre-set within the receiver during a manufacture of the ballast. As such, after an installation of the ballasts within the cell, each receiver must be bound to a specific button or key of the remote control whereby a user of the remote control can selectively operate a selected ballast.
A binding method known in the art involves operating the transmitter of the remote control to transmit a command to all of the receivers whereby each receiver is set in a special mode for binding. Second, the transmitter is operated to transmit a request for the pre-set address of one of the receivers within the cell. Third, upon a receipt of the pre-set address, a specific button or key of the remote control is bound to the corresponding receiver. The second and third steps are repeated for each receiver.
The effectiveness of the aforementioned binding method is based on two premises. The first premise is that each receiver has a unique address that is pre-programmed in the factory. Thus, it is imperative that the ballasts within a cell include receivers that are manufactured from a single manufacturer or a collective group of multiple manufacturers. However, under such circumstances, decorative and operational choices of a user become limited to deciding among systems as opposed to deciding among individual fixtures or lamps from various systems. Additionally, each pre-set address must contain a significant amount of bits in order to be unique.
The second premise is that the transmitter can transmit a command to one of the receivers within the cell without other receivers, within or without the cell, receiving the command to thereby avoid multiple reactions to the command. However, a radio frequency is omni-directional and can penetrate objects. Thus, all receivers within a transmission range of the radio frequency signal will receive the signal. The transmission range must then be reduced or focused to purposely enable a solo communication between the transmitter and an individual receiver. Such a reduction or focusing of the transmission range however limits the convenience and use of binding each receiver to the remote control.
It is therefore desirable to improve upon prior art methods of binding ballasts to a remote control.
The present invention relates to a method and system for initializing and binding ballasts that overcomes the disadvantages associated with the prior art. Various aspects of the invention are novel, non-obvious, and provide various advantages. While the actual nature of the present invention covered herein can only be determined with reference to the claims appended hereto, certain features, which are characteristic of the embodiments disclosed herein, are described briefly as follows.
A first form of the present invention is an operating method of a remote control for assigning a network address to a ballast installed within a cell. The remote control transmits a signal indicative of a start of a clock sequence including a plurality of clock cycles to the ballast. The remote control assigns a network address to the ballast in response to receiving second signal from the ballast during one of the clock cycles.
A second form of the present invention is an operating method of a ballast installed within a cell for receiving an assignment of a network address. The ballast generates a random address as a function of a plurality of clock cycles. The ballast transmits a signal indicative of the random address during one of the clock cycles in response to a reception of a signal indicating a start of a clock sequence including the clock cycles.
A third form of the present invention is a method for operating a remote control and a ballast installed within a cell. The ballast generates a random address as a function of a plurality of clock cycles. The remote control transmits a signal indicative of a start of a clock sequence including the clock cycles. The ballast transmits a signal indicative of the random address during one the clock cycles in response to a reception of the start clock sequence signal. The remote control assigns a network address to the ballast in response to a reception of the random address signal.
A fourth form of the present invention is a computer readable medium including a computer program product for assigning a network address to a ballast installed within a cell. The computer program product comprises the following computer readable codes. A computer readable code for generating a clock sequence of a plurality of clock cycles. And, a computer readable code for assigning a network address to the ballast in response to a reception of signal during one of the clock cycles.
A fifth form of the present invention is a computer readable medium including a computer program product for receiving an assignment of a network address. The computer program product comprises the following computer readable codes. A computer readable code for generating a random address as a function of a plurality of clock cycles. And, a computer readable code for transmitting a signal indicative of the random address during one the clock cycles in response to a signal indicating a start of a clock sequence including the clock cycles.
A sixth form of the present invention is a system comprising a cell, a ballast installed with the cell, and a remote control. The ballast is operable to generate a random address as a function of a plurality of clock cycles. The remote control is operable to transmit a signal indicative of a start of a clock sequence including the clock cycles. The ballast is further operable to transmit a signal indicative of the random address during one the clock cycles in response to a reception of the start clock sequence signal. The remote control is further operable to assign a network address to the ballast in response to a reception of the random address signal.
The foregoing forms and other forms, features and advantages of the present invention will become further apparent from the following detailed description of the presently preferred embodiments, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The detailed description and drawings are merely illustrative of the present invention rather than limiting, the scope of the present invention being defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.